I frequently get asked questions on the new Horizon API module for PowerCLI 6.5 (R1), so I thought I’d share some of my notes on getting started with this incredibly useful new API for Horizon. It is hard to imagine working with any virtualization or cloud technology without adding API functionality into the mix. I use the Dropbox API to store database backups for this very blog. I heavily rely on the API provided by DigitalOcean, who hosts the Linux VPS this blog is running on. After speaking to some of my friends in VMware Professional Services, it suddenly dawned on me how a large part of their day is helping customers use APIs for our products. It has come along in leaps and bounds compared to the older SDKs and APIs available a few years back.

You don’t need to be a coder to take advantage of the Horizon API, but mastering the basics of scripting and API interaction is key to becoming a successful VMware guru!

Following on from my previous video blog where I described how VMware View Linked Clones are created, I have decided to make this available as a more detailed written article. VMware View Composer is a service that can run on either the vCenter server or on a standalone dedicated machine. In this technical deep dive I describe what makes a linked clone, the role of View Composer and exactly what it does.

View Composer consists of a web service (SIM), the Universal File Access (UFA) service and other components it relies on such as ADutil and the vCenter API. View Composer receives instructions from View Manager as XML messages, and initiates the linked clone creation using vCenter API calls and the SIM service (Scalable Image Management, a.k.a Composer). In essence it’s a workflow engine. [Read more…] about VMware View Composer Linked Clone Technical Deepdive